Researchers found that Alzheimer’s disease progresses slower in people over the age of 80 than in younger seniors. This gradual decline can delay detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the oldest seniors.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine analyzed data, collected as a part of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study, from more than 700 people ages 65 to 90. The researchers found that seniors in their 60s or 70s experienced faster rates of cognitive decline and brain tissue loss during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease than their older counterparts. The reasons for this difference were unclear, but researchers hypothesized that the older seniors may have dementia plus Alzheimer’s, which may stall the full effects of the disease, or they may experience some other factor that inhibits full expression of symptoms.
Regardless of the cause, this gradual decline decreases the effectiveness of traditional screening techniques. “Patients typically show marked deterioration year after year,” said Dominic Holland, one of the study’s authors. “If older patients are not showing the same deterioration from one year to the next, doctors may be hesitant to diagnose AD, and thus these patients may not receive appropriate care, which can be very important for their quality of life.”
Read a US News article, to learn more about the study, published Aug. 2 in the online journal PLoS One.
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